Forbes names most overpaid actors

Eddie Murphy hasn't had a non-animated hit in five years, returning US$2.30 for every US$1 paid.

Katherine Heigl's box office performance has stalled, with One For The Money ironically only earning US$37 million. She returns US$3.40 for every US$1 paid.

Reese Witherspoon's How Do You Know was a major flop, earning only US$50 million on an estimated budget of US$120 million. She returns US$3.90 for every $1 paid.

Sandra Bullock's All About Steve flopped, she returns US$5 for every US$1 paid.

While bringing in serious cash with animated films, Jack Black's live action films haven't been doing too well, especially The Big Year. He returns US$5.20 for every $1 paid.

Nicolas Cage has been in ten films in the last three years, and most of these haven't done too well. He returns US$6 for every US$1 paid.

Adam Sandler is on the few remaining actors who can demand US$20 million per film - something that looks a bit overblown with disappointments like Jack and Jill. He returns US$6.30 for every US$1 paid.

While his films do fine at the box office, Denzel Washington also commands an outside paycheck. He returns US$6.30 for every US$1 paid.

Stiller's films do pretty well, but he makes so much per film that he seems overpaid - with films like Tower Heist barely returning a profit. He returns US$6.50 for every US$1 paid.

As soon as Sarach Jessica Parker steps out of her Sex and the City role, making money gets harder. I Don't Know How She Does It barely made a profit. She returns US$7 for every US$1 paid.

Eddie Murphy was once among Hollywood's top box office draws, but he now has the dubious honour of being crowned its most overpaid actor, according to Forbes magazine.

In its annual list, determined by the misalignment between star salaries and their films' box office take, Murphy, once a one-man gold mine with 1980s hits such as Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop, displaced Drew Barrymore for the top spot.

"Murphy's career has just collapsed," Forbes said, citing such recent box office bombs as Imagine That, A Thousand Words and Meet Dave.

Weighing box office receipts against pay cheques, Forbes calculated that for every dollar Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of just US$2.30 at the box office. Murphy placed second on the list a year ago.

Popular actresses such as Katherine Heigl, and Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock, made the top five, with "returns" ranging from US$3.40 to US$5.

Forbes took issue with Witherspoon's "questionable" choices such as the star-laden, James L. Brooks romantic comedy How Do You Know, which was one of 2010's worst-performing films. It cost US$120 million, much of which went toward star salaries, but grossed a paltry US$49 million.

The cast included two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, as well as actors generally considered solid at the box office such as Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller.

"Washington's films do fine at the box office but he can demand an outsized pay cheque on those movies," Forbes noted. His current hit "Flight" was not included for this year's list.

Washington's return was the same US$6.30 calculated for Sandler, whose comedies Forbes said were consistent performers -- except when they're not, such as the disappointing Jack and Jill.

It was the same with Stiller, whom Forbes said "earns so much money per film that one miss can make him seem overpaid. That's what happened with Tower Heist, in which the actor co-starred with -- Eddie Murphy.

Will Ferrell, who topped the list for two of the last four years and came in third a year ago, didn't place.